Contents

Plot

John Skillpa, a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life. This might have to do with John's secret: he has another personality no one knows about, a woman, named Emma[4],who each morning does his chores and cooks him breakfast before he starts his day. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John’s backyard and destroys more than the weathered planks of his wood fence. When neighbors descend on the scene, they discover Emma for the first time and mistakenly believe her to be John’s wife. This launches John into the glare of the spotlight and eventually shatters the delicate balance of his sanity. He must then fool the town into believing him and his alter ego are man and wife. But a young struggling single mother, Maggie, know's John's secret and holds the key to his past and sparks a battle between the personalities.

Cast

Cillian Murphy as John Skillpa, a "retiring, shy and completely nondescript bank employee" leading a double life as Emma, his female alter ego.[5] Murphy states that "Peacock stunned me as a script from start to finish. It offers an incredible challenge to an actor—one I couldn't turn down."[3]

Ellen Page as Maggie,[5] a struggling young mother who holds the key to Skillpa's past and sparks a battle between the personalities.[3] Page comments, "This is one of the boldest screenplays I've come across in my albeit short career; it's a character and story I can throw myself into and exactly the type of movie I love to be a part of."[6]

Susan Sarandon as Fanny Crill,the wife of Peacock's mayor who also runs a local woman's shelter.[7] Sarandon has said that Peacock is "a very strange little piece—kind of ominous."[8]

Bill Pullman as Edmund French Skillpa's supervisor.[7] Pullman has described Peacock as "a very interesting script," explaining that his role "is another character hiding the fact he's the closest one like [Skillpa]. It's a very different part for me."[9]

Josh Lucas as Officer Tom McGonigle a local police officer and Skillpa's friend.[10]

Production

Filming

Filming began May 6, 2008 in the small town of Odebolt, Iowa.[2][13] Shooting of the film was scheduled to continue on June 5, 2008 in Boone, Iowa, but due to weather conditions, Cornfield Productions was forced to delay filming until the following day. The filming occurred at the local train tracks with line producer Brian Bell explaining that this particular shot was a "visual effects" shot, where the train will eventually be digitally edited to appear as if it is passing through Skillpa's backyard, even though it is not physically there. Although the shooting took four hours to complete, it will only comprise about 10 to 15 seconds of the film.[2] The filming of Peacock ended on June 9, 2008.[2]